White as Snow
by Teleri
Summary: When Dawn starts have disturbing dreams, and murdered girls start turning up, Buffy has to face an evil out of legend.
1. Default Chapter

Title: White as Snow (1/?)  
Author: Teleri  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Buffy and her world belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy. I'm just   
borrowing them for fun.   
Summary: When Dawn starts have disturbing dreams, and murdered girls start   
turning up, Buffy has to face an evil out of legend.  
Feedback: teleri_rhys@hotmail.com. Yes, please.  
  
Once upon a time….  
  
Don't all stories begin like that, at least all the ones that end with "They lived   
happily ever after". Stories and fairy tales are integral to our world. They create   
a space that allows for the good guys to win and the bad guys to pay. In a story,   
it's easy to tell the good from the bad, the right from the wrong. Without the   
stories to set the boundaries, the world dissolves into an endless kaleidoscope of   
grey. They set up the rules with a magic that binds people's hearts and minds.   
Rules like stepmothers are evil, young girls are innocent, the prince is always   
charming, and the first two siblings on a quest must fail. Stories are magical all   
by themselves, not as strong as spells but stronger than mere dreams. Like all   
magical things, stories affect the world they are in, sometimes the stories shape   
the world, sometimes the world shapes the stories, either way, the people in the   
stories don't have much control. But sometimes, things happen in the stories   
that no one wants to remember, footnotes that only add to the greyness.   
Sometimes the young innocent blonde girl fights back instead of being eaten by   
the monster; sometimes the dark evil is really a good guy. Sometimes a   
stepmother is just a lady who married your dad. After time, these bits of stories   
are forgotten, lost until sometime when they are necessary, when they are   
needed. Like now.  
  
*********  
Dawn laid the book on her bedside table and turned off the light. Lately it had   
been getting harder and harder to go to sleep at night without reading something.   
When she tried to just lay there and sleep without it, she just started thinking and   
then the next thing she knew it was 5 in the morning and she hadn't slept a wink.   
So she'd been reading every night, to fill her mind with something happy and   
brainless, something that wouldn't make her think. She started with some Terry   
Pratchetts she'd borrowed from Willow, and then moved on to some Esther   
Friesner and Tom Holt that Spike had lent her, finally she re-read all the Narnia   
books and Harry Potters. Now she'd run out of books and the new Harry Potter   
wasn't due out for at least another year, so she'd turned to the last unread book   
on her shelf, The Blue Fairy Book. Her mom had given her The Blue Fairy Book   
when she was five and started Dawn's love of fairy tales and reading. Everything   
was so easy in fairy tales, you knew who the baddies were and the good guys   
always won. Not like the real world, where the bad guys sometimes wore white   
hats and the good guys had to die to win.  
  
Dawn winced at the memory of the last few months. With Buffy gone, everything   
had been absolutely wretched. The Scoobies still did their fight evil drill, but with   
less enthusiasm than before. Willow pretty much took over and had been the   
strong one, Xander was a wreck and Giles had left for England. He just couldn't   
face life here without Buffy. Dawn herself had barely survived, only because   
Spike seemed to need her so very much. She had managed to not fade away   
into nothingness and to keep Spike from kissing daylight for three months. Then   
Willow had found a spell and brought Buffy back. Now everyone was settling   
back into the routine, into the happy ending.  
  
As she rolled over and got a little bit more comfortable, she smiled to think of her   
sister. Buffy was back and Dawn still sometimes couldn't believe it. It was like   
with Snow White, only there was no wicked stepmother and no prince. Okay, the   
only bit was that Snow came back too and had a happy ending. Maybe Buffy and   
all of us have finally earned a happy ending. With this comforting thought she   
drifted off to sleep.  
  
********  
A pretty girl with dark hair and very fair skin sang quietly to herself as she walked   
through the forest. She was so wrapped up in her song that she didn't notice the   
well-dressed man behind her. He was dressed in a fine cloth, all in browns and   
greys, fitted to his form like skin. Even if the girl had been paying attention she   
might not have seen him, he blended so well with the forest around him. Moving   
quietly he approached her and reached out a hand that caressed her pale cheek.  
  
"Oh," exclaimed the girl, "S-sir, I did not notice you there."  
  
"Of course not my dear," the man smiled, "I did not want you to notice me."  
  
He moved to stand in front of her, taking her shoulders in his hands, "You have   
greatly hurt and angered your mother Eira, you should not have left her in such a   
state. I have been sent to take you home, dear girl."  
  
The girl twisted in his powerful grasp, "I will not go with you Huntsman, my *step*   
mother's wishes are not my own." She stopped struggling and looked at the man   
with wide blue eyes. "The world does not have to be this way."  
  
The Huntsman looked down at her, "Little girl, do not make this difficult, your   
mother commanded me bring you home or bring home your heart. I would much   
rather take a living, breathing child home, rather than a dead and bloody heart."  
  
The villagers believed that Eira's stepmother was a witch who had captured her   
father's heart with spells and enchantments. Of course the villagers also   
believed that a dragon lived under the mountain and that stink kept away demons   
of illness, but their beliefs about her stepmother were surprisingly true. She   
knew it because her stepmother had taught her the same spells and how to use   
them. Her stepmother had been amazed at her skill; of course the fact that she   
was stunningly beautiful only helped her cast spells of devotion. Thanks to her   
beauty and her magic, she had wanted for nothing. If there had been anything   
she was not instantly given or offered, all she needed to do was cock her head   
just so, flash her smile like that, and lower her eyes like this, and it was done.   
That is until yesterday, when her stepmother had decided to have her married off   
to some brute of man in an isolated cantref. He was some Marcher Lord that   
would elevate the family's status with the Saseaneg, the English. Eira wanted   
nothing to do with it or her stepmother's plans. She wanted to see the world,   
play with a few more farm boys and find a malleable husband who wouldn't mind.   
The Marcher Lord was far too powerful for her to cuckold and his lands to far   
away to be near her farm boys. Unfortunately her stepmother was immune to   
her glamouries, so she had run away. However the man in front of her was not   
immune. She knew the Huntsman well; he was a genuinely nice man, with very   
few weaknesses. Much to her satisfaction she also knew that one of those   
weakness was for young girls. Looking at the Huntsman that stood between her   
and freedom, Eira began to weave her favorite spell. A flash of her eyes, and a   
hint of a smile, she began to recite the words in her mind. Moonlight hit her skin   
as white as snow, and glinted off her hair as black as ravens. She licked her lips   
as red as fire and tilted her head shyly.  
  
"Surely brave Huntsman, I could give you my heart and yet live." She said in   
voice that denied any innocence. She moved closer to him and took his hand.   
  
"E-eira, I know of no way such a thing could be so," The Huntsman said in deep   
whisper. Looking deep into her eyes, the spell took hold of him and he could   
think of nothing but to satisfy and please this beautiful creature.  
  
She placed his hand upon her breast, above her heart and whispered into his   
ear, "A powerful, wise man like you could surely find a way to save such a strong   
heart." With this the Huntsman moaned as she kissed him and took her into his   
arms, and fell into oblivion.  
  
Dawn started as she woke and flushed with the memory of her dream. Whoever   
that Eira girl was, she knew how to work the men didn't she? Dawn shook her   
head, if only she could master that spell, she'd have it made. She smiled, yeah,   
but before then, she'd have to dye her hair black and go all Goth chick. Not   
likely, Buffy would have a fit if she did something like that. She chuckled to   
herself at the image of Goth-Dawn, as she got ready for school.  
***********  
Later that day, Dawn was struggling to stay awake in history. Ms. Tyminski was   
droning on and on about Roosevelt and the New Deal. Dawn had been taking   
rather good notes until now, but all the acronyms were starting to run together,   
WPA, CCC, PWA, TVA, and all of them were very confusing. As her head   
started nod, she felt sleep creep over her.  
  
The Huntsman awoke as sunlight began to touch the forest. He was tired and   
sore and very, very confused. His body ached, he had deep gouges on his back   
and thighs and he was covered in the morning dew. He shook his head to clear   
away the fog and saw a box before him. Slowly as memories began to return, he   
found most of his clothing and struggled into it, careful of his wounds. He   
examined the box and began to open it. His hand paused as he reached for the   
lid as he remembered the girl's words:   
  
"Mor ddu a'r fran, mor goch a'r than, mor gwyn arg eira. Rwyt ti eiddo."  
  
After that he remembered little, only that she had told him she had made   
arrangement to satisfy her stepmother's requirement. He opened the box and   
saw a human heart. He jerked back in surprise; surely the girl had not cut out   
her own heart? He tried to remember more through the fog of the night. How   
had she made the arrangements? He remembered suggesting using a boar or   
stag heart, but she had said that her stepmother was far to smart for that. She   
had smiled then, and said she would make sure he had a virgin's heart to take   
the place of her own. He shook his head again in disbelief as he remembered   
more about the night; the girl had been no virgin.  
  
Dawn woke suddenly as the bell rang, and blearily gather up her books.  
  
"Wow, Dawn you were way gone. Staying out too late with the hotties?" Lisa   
smiled.  
  
Sheepishly, Dawn said, "Nah, just overwhelmed by all the useless letters in the   
lecture. I mean, god, I felt like I was in an episode of Sesame Street with all the   
dancing letters."  
  
Lisa laughed and said, "Yeah, you looked like you were in a bit of nightmare, I   
almost woke you there towards the end."  
  
Dawn shook her head, "I'm okay, just one of those reoccurring theme dreams,   
you know."  
  
"Tell me about it, one time, I had this dream that I was being chased by rabid   
bunnies for six nights in a row. I'm still a little freaked by those Cadbury Easter   
bunnies," Lisa joked. "Rabbits should *never* growl like lions."  
  
Dawn laughed with her friend and tried to shake loose the echoes of the dream.   
Seeing that heart in wooden box definitely put her off the idea of lunch. Maybe   
after school she'd tell Buffy or Willow about her dreams.  
  
*********************  
  
Buffy laid down the newspaper and looked at Anya. "If Giles were here, he'd say   
something like 'This is most disturbing'. But since he's not, all I've got to say is   
'research mode'." She sighed heavily. She missed Giles tons, he was her   
motivation, her security blanket, her Watcher. When she came back and found   
he'd left, it hurt a great deal. She understood why he left, it made sense, but   
logic and sense didn't make her miss him any less. Without her here, he'd had   
no reason for being. Yeah, they'd dropped the strict Watcher-Slayer gig a long   
time ago, but he always knew she needed him. But when she died, she   
obviously didn't need him anymore, so he'd left. Moved back to England to try   
and heal, try and cope. They'd had the discussion after she came back, ran up a   
huge phone bill discussing everything about their lives, and resolved very little.   
She still felt a little abandoned, and he still felt a little raw with the grief of losing   
her. Maybe with time, those feeling would fade into something vaguely   
resembling normality, but for now…  
  
"What do we need to research, Buffy?" Anya asked interrupting Buffy's thoughts.  
  
"Oh, this seems like not of the norm, even for Sunnydale." She replied handing   
Anya the paper. "Check out the lead story."  
  
"Local girl found murdered in park. Buffy the only thing that's unusual about this   
is that they've bothered to treat it with a headline. Sunnydale is finally   
understanding about all these missing people and doing what humans always do,   
ignoring it."  
  
"No, Anya, read on, it actually lists how she died."  
Anya read the article gasping as some of the more graphic areas. "Her heart   
was cut out. She was laid out like she was resting after her throat was slit and   
her heart removed. Buffy this is not good."  
  
"I know, the paper mentions that murders like this have occurred in San   
Francisco and L.A. I'm going to call Angel and see if he knows anything about   
this. Meanwhile, page Willow and Tara with the research code and we'll start   
looking for demons that have a thing for human hearts."  
  
"Right, I'll get right on it. You call Angel, I hope it's not too uncomfortable."  
  
Buffy nodded as she picked up the phone and started dialing, "Yea, I'm kinda   
hoping that Cordelia answers. Wow, that's something I never thought I'd say."  
  
*****  
Dawn walked to the Magic Box slowly. They had all just adopted the place after   
Giles left, Anya took over the management and had hired Buffy on part-time to   
help out since Social Services needed some proof that Buffy could exist as an   
adult and take care of Dawn. Xander, Willow and Tara all showed up there   
everyday after they finished work or school. Spike usually turned up around   
sunset or earlier to check on Dawn and see how school went. Everyone wanted   
to be around each other as much as possible, it was like after losing Buffy, none   
of them wanted to be alone for longer than it took to go to the bathroom. Now   
that she was back, they'd all just kept up the habit. Besides, Dawn personally   
thought that Willow and Xander kept it up just to make sure Buffy didn't   
disappear.  
  
The smell of burning blanket interrupted her thoughts and she dodged the form of   
a flaming vampire running full tilt to the shop. As Spike hit the door and dashed   
in, she smiled and shook her head. He really needed to find a better way to go   
out in the day. One afternoon he may misjudge that blanket and get dusted.  
  
She walked into the Magic Box and smiled at Buffy fussing at Spike.  
  
"You know, sometimes flaming people tend to scare off customers. Why don't   
you use the sewers or just stay home until sunset?" Buffy snapped. Spike had   
knocked over a display of fertility dolls as he came in and she was going to have   
to completely redo it now.  
  
"Sorry, pet. Had to get here in time to check on Nibblet. She should have got   
that paper back in English and I want to gloat over how well she did."   
  
"Hey Spike," Dawn said from behind him. Giggling a little when he turned around   
startled, she said, "I made an A. The teacher really liked it, she said I have an   
'innate' talent for analyzing poetry."   
  
Spike beamed, "I knew you'd ace it, luv. You're a natural. This girl," he said as   
he put an affectionate arm around her shoulder, "could give those gits at Oxford   
a run for their money. Mark my words, Nibblet here has a future in literature."  
  
"Hey Buffy, I got your page, what's the what?" Willow said as she entered the   
shop with Tara just behind her.  
  
"Oh, that, um," Buffy stammered looking at Dawn.  
  
"It's okay Buffy, we started to include Dawn a lot in the research while you were,   
er, gone. I've even been teaching her Latin. She very good a cross-referencing   
things." Willow smiled reassuringly.  
  
"Yeah, Buff, I figured since I'm the Slayer's sister, I might as well pitch in on   
saving the world instead of getting in the way." Dawn said as she sat down at the   
table in front of the stack of books Anya had gathered.  
  
"Okay, well when Xander gets here I'll explain everything. This is not something I   
want to go over more than once. Dawn why don't you call for pizza, it's going to   
be a long night."  
  
***********  
Xander arrived shortly before the pizza and Buffy began to explain the situation   
in between bites of pizza. She started off by telling them about the girl found in   
the park, and then told them about her conversation with Cordelia. She had   
gotten lucky and caught Angel sleeping and Cordy knew all the business   
anyway. It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to Angel, okay, yes it was like that.   
Ever since she had come back talking to him was awkward and difficult. There   
were long pauses in the conversation and eventually she'd get him out of his   
shell but it was never for long.  
  
"Anyway, so Cordelia said that five girls were found murdered like this in LA   
about six months ago. The last girl was somebody relatively famous and there   
was a huge stink. Of course the police couldn't find anything out and they think   
it's a serial killer." Buffy watched Dawn's face as she talked. Dawn had gotten   
very pale when she mentioned the first murder and now she was just looking a   
little better but not much.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy said.  
  
"I said, who was the famous girl?" Tara asked.  
  
"Um, Neve Bianco. Some sort of model or something."  
  
"Oh my god," Dawn exclaimed. "She was so pretty, look." She pulled an issue of   
Cosmo Girl out of her backpack and handed it around.  
  
On the cover was a strikingly beautiful girl, with wide blue eyes, flawless fair skin   
and coal-black hair. Both Xander and Spike whistled. "She's perfection made   
flesh," Willow whispered.  
  
"She was fourteen, like me." Dawn said in quiet voice. "Buffy, there's something I   
think I need to tell you. I've been having these dreams and something about all   
these murders feels familiar."  
  
Haltingly Dawn lead into the story of her dreams, stuttering over the sexy bits, but   
leaving them in just the same. When she got to the part about the spell, Willow   
stopped her.  
  
"Dawnie, can you remember the words? That might help us figure this out."  
  
"Uh, yeah, let me think. *Mor thu ar vran, mor goch ar than, mor gwen arg earah.   
Root ti eatho.* I don't know if that's right but it sounds close." She looked over at   
Willow writing down the words and shrugged. "I have no idea what language it   
was."  
  
"It was Welsh I think, and pet, your not going to get anywhere with the way that's   
written down." Spike leaned over Willow and corrected the gibberish to read:   
'Mor ddu a'r vran, mor goch a'r than, mor gwyn arg eira. Rwyt ti eiddo.'  
  
"I assume it's Welsh from the talk about the Marcher Lords and the mention of   
Saesneg. I don't know what the spell means but I know the sound of it. Course,   
last time I heard any Welsh it was being screamed at me. Nice people, the   
Welsh, little pissy after you eat few of them, but nice mostly." Spike smirked.  
  
"Who or what is the Marcher Lords and the Saesneg?" Buffy asked ignoring   
Spike's comment about eating people. This was the game they played. He tried   
to remind them all that he was the Big Bad and they ignored him.  
  
"Damn, Slayer, didn't you learn anything in school? The Marcher Lords you   
should know, English border lords that ruled Wales in the Middle Ages. Edward   
the First gave them a ton of power after he beat the Welsh into submission. Over   
there they call him the Black Prince and Saesneg is their word for English. I   
know that for sure, they use it like a curse almost." Spike finished as he lit a   
cigarette. "And believe me I heard it enough."  
  
Willow said, "Okay, now that I know what language it is, I can find a translation   
easier."  
  
"So what do we know people? My sister's dreaming about a not nice girl who   
leaves hearts for boys and we've got a welsh demon killing pretty girls." Buffy   
said as she paced.  
  
"What did the other girls look like?" Xander asked.  
  
"Uh, don't know. The girl here in Sunnydale had black hair and was Caucasian.   
Oh, you mean did the all look alike? Good thinking, Xan."   
  
Anya looked up sharply and said, "Wait a minute, Dawn, how did the girl in your   
dream describe herself?"  
  
"She said, 'hair like ravens, skin white as snow, and lips red as fire'. Oh I get it.   
It's like Snow White. Only the lips were red as blood weren't they?"  
  
Anya shook her head. "Only in some cultures, the colors remain the same, but   
what they refer to sometimes is often different."  
  
"In my anthropology class, they said that most cultures don't recognize the same   
colors but all cultures recognize red, white, and black as important." Tara offered.  
  
"Oh I hope we aren't dealing with her, she's a total bitch." Anya said sadly.  
  
"Who, the stepmother?" Buffy asked.  
  
"No, Snow White. Or whatever she's calling herself. I met her once, and trust   
me; the girl was no innocent. That poor woman did everything she could to stop   
the little demon and when the story comes out, Snow wins. Its just not fair."  
  
"Right, let me get this straight. Snow White really existed? And her step mom   
was the good one, not her? Somehow I'm having a hard time believing this, I   
mean, Snow White's just a fairy tale." Xander said nervously.  
  
"Yes and Spike just mildly anemic. Of course fairy tales are real, how do you   
think they happen, someone just makes them up? Snow's step mom wasn't the   
nicest lady in the world, but she was better than Snow. Okay here's a visual.   
Take Cordelia at her meanest, make her prettier, take away every hint of any   
morals, and grant her the ability to manipulate people's minds with magic. That's   
Snow White." Anya finished and looked around at the stunned people   
surrounding her. "What?! Don't get me started on that cow Cinderella."  
"Okay, you're telling me that the fairy tales are really real and Snow White,   
Cinderella, and Rapunzel were not only real but actually bad instead of good?"   
Willow asked in amazement. "That makes me feel somewhat strange about my   
Fairy Princess Barbie."  
  
"Well it depends on which story as to whether or not they were good or bad.   
See, the stories take place all the time. At any given moment stories are   
happening, right now, some girl thinks her stepmother is witch and want rid of   
her, in some family of three sisters, the two eldest make the youngest do all their   
chores. That sort of thing happens all the time. There have been thousands of   
Snow Whites, and most of them have been okay, but the one I met was force for   
pure evil. The main story behind Snow White is that vanity is bad, in the   
traditional tale; step-mom wants Snow dead because she's prettier than her and   
her vanity makes her evil. However in this version with this Snow White, the   
stepmother isn't the vain one. Snow White is." Anya finished with a grim nod.   
"But I'm not certain she would be the one targeting these girls. I mean Snow   
tended to disregard women unless they had a man she wanted."  
  
"Guess I know what that means, more research." Xander groaned.  
  
"Guys, why don't you get a start on finding the baddie that's responsible and   
Spike and I will do a quick patrol. Maybe we can see something out there." Buffy   
said as she started towards the door.  
  
Everyone settled into their positions and started wading through books. Willow   
hopped on the Internet and looked up the Welsh phrases. Buffy and Spike left   
heavily armed to go patrol and maybe find the creature responsible for the   
murders.  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Title: White as Snow (2/?)  
Author: Teleri  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Buffy and her world belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy. I'm just borrowing them for fun.   
Summary: When Dawn starts have disturbing dreams, and murdered girls start turning up, Buffy has to face an evil out of legend.  
Feedback: teleri_rhys@hotmail.com. Yes, please.  
  
"So how are you taking this, luv?" Spike asked as he and Buffy walked towards the park.  
  
"Taking what? Dawn channeling evil fairy tales or me being back from the dead for only 2 weeks?"  
  
"I guess a little of both, pet." Spike smiled hesitantly at her. "You've been out of action for a bit, it's only natural that you be a little dodgy on the comeback. Plus, Nibblit's weirdness can't make it any easier on you."  
  
Buffy looked at Spike, who was gazing at her with tenderness and a hint of protectiveness. "I'm fine. Now let's find a twisted freak."  
  
"If that's what you want to do, pet."  
  
Buffy turned on him and grabbed him by the lapels of his duster. "LOOK, *pet*, I have had just about enough of this. Yes, I died. I came back. I'm alive for the third time, I think I can handle this, what I can't handle is you guys treating me like I'm made of glass." She backed away from him and glared at him furiously. "I can't take you like this, all the affection, and the sweet mushy shit. Between you and Xander I feel like I can't breathe. And someone is always watching me, making sure I'm breathing or something. Since I came back you haven't said one snarky thing to me. Yes Spike, I need you around, you're someone I've come to depend on and I don't mind that. But, this - this *brooding* sensitive guy you've been lately, been there, done that, almost destroyed the world and got the t-shirt. I need my asshole Spike back. I *like* that Spike, you keep me from feeling fragile. You make me fight, you make me strong. With out Giles around, no one else will tell me I'm an idiot. No speaks up to question a plan. They all just look at me like I'm gonna go away again."   
  
She stalked away from him and turned back, "Trust me, the whole being dead gig was no fun, and the coming back was definitely one of the weirdest gigs I've dealt with. That means a lot from a girl living on the Hellmouth, but I can cope. No one else will listen to me when I say that I'm gonna be okay, but you *have* to. The only way I'm gonna get through this and go back to being happy completely not-dead Buffy is for you people to stop treating me like I'm a ghost. I'm a living breathing girl, and I'm *not* going anywhere anytime soon. Okay, emotional outburst over now, please resume your regularly scheduled slaying." She finished and began striding towards the park.  
  
Shaking his head at the outburst, Spike straightened his duster, lit a cigarette and stared at the Slayer's retreating back. They had been treating her like she was a china doll, and damn it, he was not brooding, just didn't want to loose her again.  
  
"So, do you have a plan Slayer, or are just gonna yell at the guy until he gives up?" Spike smirked as he caught up with her.  
  
"Don't know, yelling seems effective at this moment on the Big Bad." She smiled at him.  
  
*******  
  
"I think I have the translation. It actually makes a great deal of sense." Willow said as she got up from the computer. "With all the Snow White references, it's a logical translation. Plus she kinda said the words in Dawn's dream. It's a simple spell to bind a person's will to the caster."  
  
"Well, spill Will, at this point I'm up for anything that sheds some light on this wacky crap." Xander said as he stretched out the kinks in his shoulders.  
  
"Okay, the literal translation is 'As black as a raven, as red as fire, as white as snow. You are mine.' Basically she's using her physical attributes to tie the person's will to hers. Pretty devious."  
  
Dawn looked up from her books, and said, "That's a cool spell, but it doesn't help us figure out who is killing these girls. I mean we already knew that Snow was a bad, so her spelling this guy doesn't seem too odd. We just need a way to get more info on her and the guy."  
  
Tara stood up and said hesitantly, "I think I have an idea. Since Dawnie has the dreams that give us the back story on this thing, maybe if she goes to sleep we could get more information."  
  
"Tara that's a cool idea, but I'm so wired right now, I don't think I'll ever sleep."   
  
"Well, we could *put* you to sleep, you know, with a spell." Tara said over Xander's mumbles of objection and Dawn's raised eyebrows "It'd be perfectly safe, you could wake up when you wanted, it just be like the magical equivalent of a glass of warm milk or something." With a nervous smile, she played her final ace, "It'd cut down on the research."  
  
With that, Dawn's disapproval vanished. "I'm game."  
  
"Wouldn't Buffy fail to approve this? If she were to know?" Xander asked.  
  
"Then she won't know." Dawn smiled.  
  
With Dawn settled comfortably on the couch in the training room, Willow and Tara began to weave the sleep spell, their soft voices were the last things Dawn heard.  
  
******  
The villagers thought her a witch, and to be honest she most likely was. She was not a pretty woman and had used some small spells to attract her husband's eye, but she truly loved him and he had loved her, even after she had stopped renewing the spells. He welcomed her into his home, made her a lady and treated her like the mother of his daughter. It would have been like a fairy tale, except for the daughter. She had tried everything to appease the girl, but Eira absolutely hated her. She had given her dolls, told her stories and in one moment of weak desperation, she had even taught the girl some spells. In that moment she had created a monster. How was she to know the child had no moral compass? From the moment she could cast a will spell, she was an unstoppable force. By the time she was 12 she had tormented a string of local village boys and had even propositioned a knight who had a horse she wanted. The Lady of Gwynedd did everything she could to show the girl that it was better to not force people to do her will, but to no avail. Recently boys had been turning up in the village with no clothes, covered in gashes and no memory of what had happened to them. Usually the days the boys turned up, Eira was not seen until late in the evening. Her father was under her spell as well and had no idea what evil his daughter was becoming. Finally the Lady Gwynedd had come up with a plan to save the girl and all the farm boys in the village. She had a cousin in the south that was skilled in magic and he also happened to be a Marcher Lord looking for a wife. He had met Eira and shown to be immune to her charms, and decided that she would make a good wife after some training. Lady Gwynedd did not relish the thought of his training, but knew that it was the only way to deal with Eira.   
  
Unfortunately, her plan had failed. The girl had run off and she had sent her loyal huntsman after her. Tomas was good man, with a plain little wife and a plain little daughter that made him so very happy. He was also the best tracker in all of Wales. He would find Eira and bring her back.  
  
*****  
Buffy and Spike walked through the park with all senses on full alert for anything out of the ordinary. So far they had seen and staked only one vampire and no hint of someone who was killing the girls.  
  
"So do you think the new girl on Charmed is gonna work?"  
  
"I have no idea, I just can't get into that show. I mean, one of the sisters is in love with a demon, I don't get it." Spike smirked, "But those ladies are easy on the eyes, I will give them that."  
  
"Pig."  
  
"Card carrying, luv, card carrying." he smiled at the Slayer's laughing face and then paused, gesturing for her to be quiet. Then they both heard it, a small whimpering noise coming from a patch of trees. Nodding in agreement, Buffy pulled a stake and quietly moved towards the noise and Spike followed.  
  
Just beyond the trees, in a small clearing, a tall man dressed in browns and greys was standing over a young girl. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was struggling in his grasp. As they struggled, moonlight glinted off the knife in his hand.  
  
******  
  
Dawn rolled over in her sleep.  
  
"My lady, the Huntsman has returned."  
  
"Send him in," The Lady Gwynedd said as she straightened her gown. "Tomas, I do hope you have good news."  
  
As the man entered, she knew that she was going to be disappointed. He was disheveled and dirty and was carrying a small wooden box before him. "I'm sorry my lady, I have failed you."  
  
"Is that – her heart?" She gasped.   
  
"No, she – she ensorcelled me and I fear she may have killed a girl to retrieve this heart." The huntsman hung his head as he recounted his story of the following evening.  
  
As he finished he looked at his lady and swore, "I vow that I will not leave this earth until I have taken that foul creature's heart from her black breast."  
  
"I know, and I will help you dear Tomas. Eira has grown too powerful and far too dangerous to allow to remain among the living." The lady gestured towards her herbs, "I feel responsible for her actions and I will be responsible for her demise. I should never have sent you to do my job."  
  
At that moment, a nauseous green smoke started to come from the box in the Huntsman's hands. The lady moved to take it from him, but he had already started to open the lid of the box. He inhaled in shock at the sight of the heart fizzing and spewing an evil green fog, taking a large amount of the toxins into his lungs. The fumes quickly overtook him and he fell to the ground coughing violently. Seizing the box, Lady Gwynedd threw it onto the roaring fire and flinched back from the sickening wet-sounding explosion that came from the box.  
  
Turning to the Huntsman, she quickly began spells to neutralize the poisons that were cutting off his air supply. His lips were already turning blue and his frantic clawing at his throat had slowed. With a final word, the Lady finished her spell and watched, as it took no effect. Looking at her with eyes filled with pain, the Huntsman mouthed, "Kill me."  
  
Wiping away tears of frustration, she took his knife from his belt and began another spell. "Please forgive me Tomas," she said as she slit his throat and watched his life's blood drain away. She then took the knife and proceeded to cut out his heart.  
  



End file.
